lots of kids, cloudy monday....

Margaret, Sonja K., Aaron, Joseph, Suzanne, and Evelyn...from yesterday.


Suzanne, Mali, and Kathryn.


Suzanne, Aaron, Evelyn...

So this fine happy morning, I am thankful for Kathryn Grace. She let the princesses sleep in her room because Camille just couldn't sleep last night. Lo and behold, Miss Char ended up throwing up three times...she made it to the bathroom, but Kap took care of her and didn't even wake me up. Kathryn deserves a prize.

Char feels much better, but it is a subdued day here...Margaret took Jonathan to his dentist appointment, because I have to leave in a few hours to take Duke to the vet.

Why did I gain a pound over the weekend? I didn't so much as taste those cupcakes...well, a minute crumb, but not even a whiff of the frosting. Seriously. No bread, no hot dog buns, no diet soda even. Water and more water, veggies, nuts, meat.

Oh well. There are worse things. It is warm and muggy today, and the pool is almost clear. Intermittent rain showers don't help, although it helps keep it full.

This will be a week of packing and gathering. Sometimes I hate being the mom, there is too much to remember. The kids are blissfully excited while I am trying to brainstorm everything we will possibly need. Blender? Floaties? Life vests for kayaks. Kayaks. There is a six vehicle limit, which in itself requires strategic planning, as six of the kids have cars, and we have three. And some have to drive back to the city to work, Emily has a class to teach...and Ben has to leave early to go back to Washington state.

I think we might go with the bring your own place setting policy, instead of using massive amounts of disposable plates and cups. There will be enough older ones to do dishes:)

The extended weather forecast predicts rain, but we will have fun all being together no matter if it rains or not, although I would rather sit on that dock in the sunshine. I am looking forward to seeing my kids interact with each other, there is nothing like it, as a mom. They are all growing up, and the stories they tell about being little, as if it was so long ago, when in fact we just blinked and here we are. Sometimes they tell of things I didn't know about....how can they have done these things without my knowing? They dug toilets in the side woods? ugh. And I do know the boys tried to cook a frozen pizza in their room on the heat duct. I'm sure they will reflect on when Joe and Aaron were The Bombies. They made up a world where they could throw towels on the floors instead of hanging them up, and no mom would get after them! They could crash things and be silly with no consequences. They told of these things around the fire when they were just little boys, and although it was funny, I didn't see much difference in their stories and how things really were.

Ah well. The inside jokes and the teasing and the collective making Mom the villain....I am looking forward to it all...